“It was all ready to go,’’ Banta-Cain said. “And it didn’t happen.’’
Banta-Cain was not picked that day. He had to wait until the next day, until the final round, after another party had ended. At one point, he told himself he might never play football again. His mother could tell how hurt Banta-Cain was.
The feeling stayed with him for his first five years with the Patriots, when he established himself as a special teams force and yearned for something more. It intensified during his two years in San Francisco, when he went back home thinking he’d found his opportunity and instead stewed on the sideline.
Even now, the feeling motivates Banta-Cain. With two games left in his return season, Banta-Cain has proven himself a complete player and become the Patriots’ best pass rusher. His three sacks last Sunday gave him 8 1/2, most on the Patriots and 14th in the NFL. His career solidified by his best season, Banta-Cain still clings to what he felt that day.
“That fire still burns deep,’’ Banta-Cain said. “That whole draft experience was definitely devastating for me. I’ve always held it on my sleeve that, one way or another, people are going to recognize who I am.’’
On the second day of the draft in 2003, Banta-Cain said, a representative from the Detroit Lions called him and indicated they were going to select him with the second pick of the fourth round. When the draft restarted, though, the Lions took Artose Pinner, a running back from Kentucky.
When he saw the Lions pick, Banta-Cain walked out of his grandmother’s house. He didn’t understand how his college career at Cal, where he was named first-team all-Pac 10 and second-team All-America by one publication, could have allowed him slip so low. He hopped in his Jeep Cherokee and started the engine.
“Wasn’t going anywhere,’’ Banta-Cain said. “Just driving. I went into this whole thing where I’m like, you know what, I might never play football again. I was just sick.’’
Hours after he started driving, while cruising over the Bay Bridge, Banta-Cain’s cellphone rang. Bill Belichick had called. He congratulated Banta-Cain on the Patriots having drafted him in the seventh round.
